U-Turn Review…we were left in limbo

Year: 2021
Genre: Relations, Drama
Cast: Ebun Oloyede, Gabriel Afolayan, Toyosi Adesanya, Jide Kosoko, Adunni Ade, Gloria Young, Tina Mba
Director: Gabriel Afolayan
Writer: Bidoun Jimoh, Bukola Awoyemi, Habibat S Ayinde, Gabriel Afolayan
Cinematographer: David Wyte
Summary: Chukwu is boarding a private ride to Ibadan with Kamo, a driver prepared to make his 2-hour trip a complete torture

Overall Rating:  Water      
Gabriel Afolayan is such a sweetheart, so when he made his directorial debut, we were thrilled and said: “bring it on!”😃
U-Turn, however, left us in limbo; not exciting not boring. Generally speaking, it was a rather plain screenplay, that wasn’t too engaging
~Yours To Explore~

Delicious
—What was good about U-Turn was the inclusion of various characters along the road trip which helped break the monotony: there was the man who returned from abroad only to become a palm wine seller (Jide Kosoko), Amoke the side-chick (Adunni Ade), the policewoman preoccupied with eating rather than working (Tina Mba), and many others
—The movie was a nice reminder of perseverance in doing good no matter what; like Chukwu (Gabriel Afolayan) quoted “you are what you are and you are not what you are not”. If you sow good deeds, you’ll reap them in due season

Bland
—The story had some hilarious moments especially when Kamo’s car would break down, but overall there wasn’t much structure to it: no climax, suspense, or complexity.
The main characters were not crafted in an impressive manner that was memorable. Chukwu was just the typical guy hustling to get by and Kamo (Ebun Oloyede) was the usual taxi driver with a big family struggling to feed 
—Acting was ok and could have been top-notch had the screenplay been richer. Gabriel Afolayan and Ebun Oloyede can deliver great performances, but the platform was, regrettably, unfit for them
—The photography was not bad; however, in several areas, we could spot the camera operator in addition to the drone and a few areas lacked proper lighting


Viewers’ Guide
Language: Violence: none Intimacy:

Trailer

Available on
(Audio:: Pidgin English, English, Yoruba; English Subtitles: Yes)